LONGMONT -- Longmont's new drilling rules lack a mandate among residents, with support mostly split along party lines, according to a newly released poll commissioned by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.

COGA on Monday released the results of the phone survey.

According to the survey by Magellan Strategies of Lousiville, 46 percent of respondents supported local regulation of oil and gas, while 42 percent opposed it, a gap just outside the 3.83 percent margin of error.

"In essence, the City of Longmont is evenly split over the issue of enacting new, local oil and gas production regulations," David Flaherty of Magellan Strategies said in a memo.

The study's release came one day before the final Longmont City Council vote on adopting the new rules. The regulations passed a first reading, 5-2, on May 8.

The rules ban surface drilling in residential zones and set up two sets of standards for oil and gas companies: a minimum standard that mostly reflects the state's rules, and a "recommended" standard under which a company can agree to tougher requirements in exchange for a faster permit process.

COGA and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission -- the state regulatory body -- both have said the rules go too far.

By contrast, most commenters at recent council meetings have said the rules don't go far enough, although some have added that they're better than having no additional rules at all.

"The regulations do not prevent the industrial disruption that will permeate our peaceful environment," Joe Bassman of Longmont ROAR, a group urging tighter rules, especially regarding the practice of hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," wrote in a Monday email. "Even so, if the new regulations are sustained in court, Longmont will have won the right to more comprehensively regulate oil and gas development within our city."

The Magellan poll surveyed 647 registered voters in Longmont between Wednesday and Friday. Other conclusions of the study included:

45 percent felt the oil and gas industry was regulated too lightly, 30 percent thought existing regulations were too heavy, and 19 percent thought they were "just right," with Democrats and independents most likely to say regulation was too light.

48 percent said Longmont should partner with the state to enforce existing rules, while 42 percent said the city should develop its own rules.

After being told that Colorado had "significant" oil and gas regulations that were "some of the most restrictive ... in the nation," and that Colorado law "generally prevents local governments from regulating oil and gas production," 54 percent of respondents said they preferred to have the industry regulated on a statewide basis, while 35 percent said they preferred to have local governments develop their own rules.

Councilman Brian Bagley, who recently served on a state oil and gas task force created by Gov. John Hickenlooper, called the survey a "push poll" and said that on this particular issue, party lines didn't matter.

The proposed rules don't prohibit drilling, Bagley said, and more drilling is likely in Longmont's near future. But it shouldn't be seen near homes, he said.

Bagley said he's already started to see emails and calls making him a political target for his stance, including one from Patrick Davis of the Colorado Liberty Alliance that accused him of attacking "just about anyone else who advocated for a responsible approach to energy development on the task force."

"Through it all, Bagley has demanded that Longmont ignore the Attorney General who is threatening to sue Longmont, ignore the fact that Colorado already has the toughest oil and gas rules in America ... and ignore just about anything from anyone except the radical anti-drilling zealots," read the email, titled "Longmont City Council: Time for Choosing Energy Independence."

Bagley emphasized that he wasn't anti-drilling, but that he didn't take kindly to bullies.

"I'm not real passionate about fracking," he said. "I just want to do what's right."

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story